Mastodon / Kylesa / IntronautOpera House, Toronto ON May 5

It's a surprise the Opera House is still standing after the metallic blitzkrieg - the show was so loud/bottom-heavy one's vision was blurred - that was this sludge/progressive metallic fest. Unfortunately, Intronaut were on so early, they were finished by the time most people would have considered getting their butts out of the house and down to the venue.

Those who were on time, however, were treated to Savannah's Kylesa, a raging behemoth boasting guitars, bass, guttural vocals and dual drums. While the twin-skins aren't always noticeable on their albums, witnessing the pair hammer through 45-minutes of imposing sludge was the highlight of an already-great set. Syncopated, mutually-accenting and fucking heavy, they alone were an awesome spectacle and one had to remember to pay attention to the rest of the band - although they weren't very mobile to be honest.

Still, it takes a truly impressive act to deliver such gruesomely weighty music so slickly. By this point, it seemed virtually impossible that Atlanta's Mastodon could possibly usurp Kylsea's reign over the evening. How foolish. With the first note of latest effort Crack The Skye erupting and making one check to ensure the floor was still intact, the quartet continued to unleash a beastly fury mixed with serene confidence.

It was impossible to ignore their prodigious prowess and sensory overload. Performing Crack The Skye in its entirety before strolling back out to offer tunes from its three predecessors Blood Mountain, Leviathan and Remission in chronological order, Mastodon were a perfect metallic spectacle. Naturally more of the sold-out crowd gave praise/were reared into appreciation for older material, which rightfully deserved more stage time than it was granted.

But overall, Mastodon easily assured that despite Crack The Skye's melodic shift, they are still one of the most dominant groove/sludge/prog metal acts to date.